
Harry Ettlinger, of the original “Monuments Men” chats with Brenda Pollard, after his recent presentation at the Jewish Congregation of Marco Island.
Millions of viewers around the world were entertained and informed by the 2014 movie “Monuments Men.” But for Harry Ettlinger, the movie was more than the cinematic depiction of a little-know, but real-life event. What he saw on the screen represented the dramatization of real-life experiences because he was one of the original Monuments Men.
Ettlinger recently discussed his experiences with the special group that recovered and returned to its rightful owners art stolen by the Nazis, at The Jewish Congregation of Marco Island as part of the Saul I. Stern Cultural Series. The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section was formed at the end of WWII to preserve the culture of the European nations that served as the conflict’s battleground, he said. Between 1944 and 1951, the group rescued 5,000,000 works of art, which were returned to their owners. The art retrieved included works by Rembrandt, Matisse, Van Gogh, the windows from the Church in Strasbourg and more. “I think we should be very proud of that,” said Ettlinger during his presentation. “We preserved them. We didn’t steal them.” Many of the all-volunteer Monuments Men had experience as museum directors, curators, art historians, artists, architects and educators. But Ettlinger was just 19 years old, one year out of high school, when he joined the group in May of 1945. Ettlinger’s inclusion had everything with a valuable skill that was part of his background. After being drafted into the U.S. Army following his high school graduation, Ettlinger was part of the contingent sent to Belguim to in 1944 to prepare for the Battle of the Bulge. But for reasons he never learned, he was transferred to another post and by May of 1945, at the war’s end, he found himself at post in Munich. It was

Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger and Robert Edsel visited the Castle of Neuschwanstein.
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